Urban Fantasy Hero

[Steve Long]

Here’s our back-cover text describing UFH:

MODERN-DAY MAGIC

Fantasy isn’t just wizards and elves and dragons in vast alternate worlds. Some of the most popular Fantasy tales are Urban Fantasy — stories featuring magic and other wondrous things in modern, high-tech settings. And whether your story is about vampires and werewolves fighting a war in the shadows of the city, mages manipulating historical and current events to increase their mystic power, or a world where magic and technology exist side-by-side, Urban Fantasy Hero has everything you need to create it in the HERO System! It includes:

—a thorough review of the Urban Fantasy genre, including its themes, elements, and story types

—extensive information for creating Urban Fantasy characters, including Package Deals, expanded rules for Skills and other game elements, and example spells and enchanted items

—advice for GMs about creating and running Urban Fantasy campaigns, ranging from mostly realistic Low Urban Fantasy stories to “Open Magic” games where magic is as well-known and common as technology

—a sourcebook containing four Urban Fantasy campaign settings/scenarios with detailed magic systems, sample spells, NPCs, and more

Get ready to find the magic hidden in the modern world with Urban Fantasy Hero!


DOJHERO515
$29.99 US
ISBN 978-1-58366-113-0

[ghost-angel]

My copy just arrived today - I LOVE the cover.

Quick run down: OK - so I nearly panicked when I flipped to the back, hopefully the Index gets up to the freepage section soon (panic I tell you!) :)

A little over half the book is dedicated to Four full settings (one is Hudson City complete with Ley Lines). The first part is genre info, I ran through pretty quickly but I like it (Musician Package Deal FTW - hey, it's an important genre element).

And, Full Review later, I've been looking forward to this book for a while so I can't wait to get into it.

[Akiva]

Just received mine today as well. First thing I noticed also was that there was no index which I found to be quite startling considering how the HERO books are widely regarded to have not only some of the best indices in the business but also some of the most functional. Other than that, so far it's tremendous. I've been waiting for this book since I got into HERO!

[ghost-angel]

Just received mine today as well. First thing I noticed also was that there was no index which I found to be quite startling considering how the HERO books are widely regarded to have not only some of the best indices in the business but also some of the most functional. Other than that, so far it's tremendous. I've been waiting for this book since I got into HERO!

Luckily, the last pages sidebar says it should appear in the Free Section soon.

[Akiva]

Luckily, the last pages sidebar says it should appear in the Free Section soon.

This is a good thing. I'd still rather have it as part of the book itself, of course.

[steamteck]

Any idea if they'll be another printing with the index in it?

[Steve Long]

No, there won't be. The index was omitted for a specific reason. When you print books, the pages are printed in 8- or 16-page sections (depending on the printer). Thus, a 144-page book is nine sections.

UFH came out to 144 pages exactly. We can't just add two pages for an index; we'd have to add 8 or 16 pages, depending on the printer's capabilities. We're not going to pay to add pages to the book just to put the Index on two of them and have 6 or 14 blank pages. That will not only cost us more money but will earn us, for our trouble, a lot of whining about "empty pages" in the back.

I'll get the Index up on the Free Stuff page as soon as I can. Flying without a full-time Art Director means some things simply take longer than expected.

[steamteck]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll grab it up soon as I'm able then.

[Steve Long]

LOL, I just had a funny idea that I would only give the Index to people who came to my weekly chat tonight. Fortunately I am not that mean. ;)

[Steve Long]

OK, you wacky hooligans. ;) Fred Hicks, gentlemanly freelance art director guy that he is, has finished up the UFH index just for you. You can find the PDF on the "Free Stuff" page. Enjoy!

[Admiral C]

UFH came out to 144 pages exactly.

I'll snap up the index when I get the book but I was hoping UFH would be longer than 144. I guess it's not so bad, the average 3rd Ed GURPS book was 128 or something similar and they had lots of info and PAH wasn't overly long either.

[Lord Liaden]

The page count came out to precisely 12x12? How spookily numerological. :sneaky:

[Lord Liaden]

LOL, I just had a funny idea that I would only give the Index to people who came to my weekly chat tonight. Fortunately I am not that mean. ;)

Or self-destructive enough to p!ss off your customers. :rolleyes:

[Barton]

Or self-destructive enough to p!ss off your customers. :rolleyes:

I vote for self destruction... Steve wants to torture us!!!
But we still love you Mr. Steve Long!

[ghost-angel]

144? My book says 200 :D

Which is 25 8-Page Sections. I think a lot of issues regarding books in general comes from people not having any experience with or knowledge of printing processes, which is understandable really but causes the occasional complaint. :)

All this talk of Indices reminds me I'm behind on my Ult. Index entries.

[Steve Long]

Err, yeah, 200 -- I looked at the wrong book. But the point of "signatures" (as they're called in the industry) still holds. Fortunately PDFs provide a good backup plan. :)

[ghost-angel]

Dang, I thought I got the Ultra Foil Print with the SooperSecret Pages.

[Akiva]

I'll snap up the index when I get the book but I was hoping UFH would be longer than 144. I guess it's not so bad, the average 3rd Ed GURPS book was 128 or something similar and they had lots of info and PAH wasn't overly long either.

I was mildly disappointed in the page length myself. I was spoiled on Dark Champions and Fantasy Hero. But, damn if these 200 pages aren't jam-packed with greatness.

[Steve Long]

Unfortunately not all genres are really created equal in terms of how much there is for me to say about 'em. ;) Urban Fantasy is huge in terms of the number of novels, TV shows, etc. it generates -- but the themes and tropes of the genre, and the subgenres, aren't all that numerous. Fantasy and and Science Fiction Action-Adventure, OTOH, are much broader; many of their subgenres are important enough by themselves to merit entire books.

PAH and UFH are two good examples of "subgenre books" that cover subjects worthy of their own books, but that just don't lend themselves to really thick books. Cyber Hero, whenever I get around to it, is the same. ;)

[Akiva]

Steve, I was surprised that you limited UFH the way you did rather than expanding it and including weird, supernatural, conspiracy, mystical, and surreal types of 'urban fantasy'. Stuff like Twin Peaks, Carnivale, etc.

[ghost-angel]

Steve, I was surprised that you limited UFH the way you did rather than expanding it and including weird, supernatural, conspiracy, mystical, and surreal types of 'urban fantasy'. Stuff like Twin Peaks, Carnivale, etc.

They're in there. Heck Twin Peaks is in the bibliography.

[Steve Long]

I don't regard "weird conspiracy," UFOs, and paranormal stuff like you tend to see on many episodes of The X-Files as "urban fantasy." (This is discussed in the book, but I don't have a copy yet so I can't give you a page cite.) That's a separate genre, which I usually refer to simply as "Weird Conspiracy." If there were enough interest it would justify a book itself, but in the polls we've run Weird Conspiracy Hero has typically not fared well.

[Akiva]

I remember where you discussed it in the book and that's where my eyebrows raised; I had just expected a broader scope beyond magic-in-the-modern-age. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. I've been waiting a long time for this book and it's great stuff so far.

It's too bad about Weird Conspiracy Hero, though. It's pretty much my favorite genre (especially when combined with Urban Fantasy) and I'd be interested to see what you'd have written about it. Luckily, I can pretty much generate whatever I need between Urban Fantasy Hero, Dark Champions, and The Ultimate Mystic.

[Steve Long]

That's part of why people largely seem less interested in WCH. They seem to think that between existing Hero books and standard reference sources they can cover the subgenre just fine. And while I'd certainly love to delve into UFO mythology, cryptozoology, conspiracy theory, and all that cool bizarre stuff and write about it, there's not much point in doing it if the consumer demand is minimal. In this business, you have to constantly arrange compromises between your Inner Artist and Inner Businessman. ;)

[Akiva]

In this business, you have to constantly arrange compromises between your Inner Artist and Inner Businessman. ;)

Which is something you seem to do remarkably well. My blasphemous, barely-tolerated non-HERO-playing friends are consistently amazed at how you guys can put out so many books of quality (and some of them quite lengthy) each year especially when the RPG industry is more in a valley than a peak right now. Heck, SJG considers Munchkin, a card game, to be its flagship product now rather than GURPS.

That aside, have you ever considered doing PDF-only supplements for the genres that you'd like to cover but don't think would merit the cost and effort of print publishing? It think it'd be better to have a 64-page Weird Conspiracy Hero PDF supplement than no Weird Conspiracy Hero supplement at all. Going back to SJG again, they've done really well with this approach and have even added PoD possibilities for the titles that have done really well through PDF-only sales.

[Steve Long]

In the past, major PDF projects (like SoB in its first incarnation) have not done well for us; they don't come close to earning back the money to cover the time, effort, and sometimes art required. We can make money on PDFs such as the HPAs that don't require much work, but anything other than that really isn't worth it.

We may try again at some point, just to see if the waters have changed, but for now original PDFs will have to remain small and simple things. ;)

[Admiral C]

Err, yeah, 200 -- I looked at the wrong book. But the point of "signatures" (as they're called in the industry) still holds. Fortunately PDFs provide a good backup plan. :)

So UFH is 200 then? That's a lot better than 144 and much more in line with what I expected. I didn't expect another FH or PH but 200 is a nice middle ground.

[Akiva]

We may try again at some point, just to see if the waters have changed, but for now original PDFs will have to remain small and simple things.

Well, if you do decide to give it another shot, you can bank on my money for a weird/conspiracy/surrealist Hero book or PDF.

[lapsedgamer]

I don't regard "weird conspiracy," UFOs, and paranormal stuff like you tend to see on many episodes of The X-Files as "urban fantasy." (This is discussed in the book, but I don't have a copy yet so I can't give you a page cite.) That's a separate genre, which I usually refer to simply as "Weird Conspiracy." If there were enough interest it would justify a book itself, but in the polls we've run Weird Conspiracy Hero has typically not fared well.

Which saves you from the mistake TSR made with their Dark Matter setting for Alternity. They shoehorned everything into one setting, and it just became a mess. Good call.

[Akiva]

Which saves you from the mistake TSR made with their Dark Matter setting for Alternity. They shoehorned everything into one setting, and it just became a mess. Good call.

The major difference here is that HERO genre books are toolkits to build the setting you want whereas TSR's settings are presented 'complete' and ready-to-run. So it's not technically possible to shoehorn too much into a HERO genre book. The only accusation one could make is that some things are covered in greater detail than others in a HERO genre book.

[Steve Long]

I think we may be getting off-topic here, but it's definitely possible to shoehorn too much into one of our genre books. ;) A book needs to have focus and limits, or else the customer won't know what he's getting, or will end up spending money for stuff he doesn't want. I think this is a good example, in fact -- Weird Conspiracy is not Urban Fantasy IMO, and putting them into one book would cause difficulties. I'd rather present them separately, and let people mish-mash 'em together (as, in fact, I plan to do in the campaign I'm working up right now ;)) if they want. :hex:

[Steve Long]

And yes, in response to someone's question, the book is 200 pages long.

[mserabian]

Folks who have the book:

Can you guys give a brief run down on the 4 fleshed out settings included in the book and how long they are?

thanks!

MAL

[Akiva]

I think we may be getting off-topic here, but it's definitely possible to shoehorn too much into one of our genre books.

I meant within scope, of course. I understand that Weird Conspiracy might not fit into Urban Fantasy (only I seem to think so because I take 'fantasy' as meaning 'fantastical' and not 'fantasy' in the sense of magic and dragons) but as long as one stays within a few reasonable boundaries, including page count, and furthermore doesn't sacrifice too much depth for breadth, the word 'shoehorn' should be the furthest from everyone's minds.

[Blue]

I realize the gears of Hero are in full grind, but I was wondering if a PDF of the book will be available.

My Hobby store (for the 4th consecutive hero book) has fallen down on the job, and I figured I'd get the PDF. Whcih would make it the first Hero System book for which I didn't buy a physical copy also. But they just tick me off with their WoCism ;)

I soooo miss my old store.

[ghost-angel]

Why not buy direct from Hero?

[Dronf]

Akiva and others--like Weird Conspiracy? Well, find a copy of 4th edition Horror Hero. The "Modern Horror Campaign" section is a Weird Conspiracy, complete with magic and monsters. :D

[lapsedgamer]

The major difference here is that HERO genre books are toolkits to build the setting you want whereas TSR's settings are presented 'complete' and ready-to-run. So it's not technically possible to shoehorn too much into a HERO genre book. The only accusation one could make is that some things are covered in greater detail than others in a HERO genre book.

That's a good point, but I was specifically referring to the distinction that Mr. long sees between the two genres. Dark Matter tried to make an overarching set of ground rules that would cover UFOs, magic and conspiracy theory all at the same time. They made sort of a D & D meets the X Files, with a little Call of Cthulhu mixed in, setting. To me, it was just a mess.

[Lord Liaden]

If someone would be interested in a HERO campaign setting mixing Weird Conspiracy with Urban Fantasy, I highly recommend Michael "Susano" Surbrook's quality web sourcebook, The Phenomena Department (http://surbrook.devermore.net/worldbooks/pdepartment/pdepartment.html). :thumbup:

[Blue]

Why not buy direct from Hero?
Issues with receiving mail at my current address. (No one to sign for it, it would likely get returned)

[ghost-angel]

Issues with receiving mail at my current address. (No one to sign for it, it would likely get returned)

Hero doesn't send signature required, and UPS usually just leaves it at the door. . .

[Blue]

Also, it's a very public area. Anyone walking by gets a free book.

Regardless, don't worry, I've covered the angles. I'd love a hardcopy, but I'll settle for the PDF if one happens.

[Dronf]

If someone would be interested in a HERO campaign setting mixing Weird Conspiracy with Urban Fantasy, I highly recommend Michael "Susano" Surbrook's quality web sourcebook, The Phenomena Department (http://surbrook.devermore.net/worldbooks/pdepartment/pdepartment.html). :thumbup:

Oh wow! Cool! Thanks for the link. :thumbup:

[Zane_Marlowe]

Folks who have the book:

Can you guys give a brief run down on the 4 fleshed out settings included in the book and how long they are?

thanks!

MAL

I am very interested to know this too.

[ghost-angel]

Gimme another day, I'll have some full blown info. I'm halfway through it and just need to sit down and write out reviews of the books I've got on my stack this weekend.

[ghost-angel]

The picture introducing Chapter 4, that's an awesome awesome image. . . it evokes so much in such a small dark space.

[Blue]

Got a new game store and a new physical copy of UFH. Yay!

On first glance, my first thought is the character illustrations are top notch :thumbup:

[ghost-angel]

The Upside:

Urban Fantasy is not a new sub-genre of Fantasy, at least in a literary sense of it. From a gaming perspective it's not been a thoroughly explored as other genres and with the recent surge in pop culture it's good to see a full source book dedicated to the genre. Urban Fantasy is a sub-genre that mixes the Modern World with Fantasy elements; faeries, vampires, werewolves and magic.

Chapter One - The Urban Fantasy Genre. Starting with a full explanation of the genre, and the sub-elements that exist within the genre. Most importantly it starts with a short section of what Isn't part of the genre. Which is a key element, as with many sub-genres they really cover a specific subset of circumstances and moving too far from them moves one back into the larger genre they're a part of, or into a mixed genre scenario. Once what isn't part of the genre is covered the books goes over the many elements that are encompassed within the scope of Urban Fantasy - Changes In Perspectives, Bookstores, Bars, Dreams, Hidden Worlds, Music, and more elements are each gone over and how they fit within the genre.

Like any genre there are elements that appear contradictory, which gives birth to sub-genres that bring forth different elements to the front. Urban Fantasy is no exception, and these differing takes on the genre are covered next. Going over Hidden Histories, Low Urban Fantasy, Monster Hunters, Monster Warfare, and Open Magic are covered. Each one has a specific viewpoint on magic, supernatural elements, and how they interact with the world, as well as the specific main focus of a possible campaign. Mixing Genres is another important piece covered, how to bring in meta-elements like Comedy, Romance and especially the very closely related Horror genre elements.

You get an excellent overview of the entire genre with this chapter, covering common and uncommon elements. Anyone not familiar with the source material of Urban Fantasy can get a very solid idea what goes into a game using this genre.

Chapter Two - Urban Fantasy Character Creation. Every genre has an identifiable set of archetypical roles, jumping right in this chapter identifies each one, their general guidelines and provides Package Deals in Hero System terms. There are fourteen Package Deals defined, from some you see in a most fantasy related genres; Anachronism and Scholar, Shaman and Wizard, and Cleric. To a few definitely unique to this genre; Musician, Mystic or Occult Detective, Sensitive, and Animal-Men (which are not lycanthropes and their related family of shapeshifters). Along with several other types to round out the offerings. There aren't many overtly combat oriented archetypes covered (like a Monster Hunter), the book points you towards adapting the large number of these from the Dark Champions source book.

Game Elements goes over how to use the various aspects of the Hero System to best effect when playing an Urban Fantasy Genre. Going over basic set up, and dealing with Characteristics Ranges (from keeping them from becoming too similar amongst the characters, to adjusting Characteristic Maximum). Skills covers which skills are not only most appropriate but how to modify Skill to get a specifically Urban Fantasy flavor out of them. Two interesting elements are Spell Research (along with rules for time) and Inconspicuous, alterations on Inventor and Concealment respectively.

Perks and Talents covers which of these are appropriate and which aren't for the genre, in brief. Instead of repeating each Talent there's a list of which are most appropriate (some are from the Fantasy Hero genre book). The Powers section spends most of it's space discussing Clairsentience and various ways to handle this common effect in the genre. Including guidelines for 'scanning' objects, locations, through time, in dreams, and psychometry (emotional clairsentience). Disadvantages covers common drawbacks and complications that the genre utilizes, including the popular Technology Interference that plagues mages. Lastly the chapter covers Equipment, looking at balancing Magic and Gear as well as Enchanted Items.

Chapter Three - Gamemastering Urban Fantasy. The last of the System Crunch chapters looks at the genre from a GMs perspective, giving advice on how to run it and questions to ask when setting up the world. First, and quite possibly most importantly, Magic is covered. Looking at types of magic, sources of magic, power level, interaction with technology, commonality of it, history, and magical races. All of these are given space with points, counterpoints and suggestions, essentially giving the GM a whole host of things to think over, which elements they want to include and which they don't. Overall, some excellent information for any campaign involving Magic of some kind, not just Urban Fantasy.

Character Guidelines looks at how powerful the PCs are compared to the world at large, power levels, and character growth. Campaign Tone and Campaign Theme cover the aspects one can hi-light within the genre and how to go about it. Campaign Types looks at the various Sub-Genre that one can focus on and how to set up, present, and run them.

Running The Game and Villains And NPCs are a general look at how to set up and run any campaign. Covering adventure structure, villain types and the like. It does give specifics to the genre however, looking at such noble Master Villains as the Ancient Vampire, Cult Leader, Evil Wizard, and Unseelie Queen. The final part looks at two NPC Archetypes that are common to Urban Fantasy, the Familiar and the Spirit Guide.

Chapter Four - Magic In The Streets: An Urban Fantasy Source book. The last chapter is the meat of the book, taking up just over half the pages. Included are four separate Campaigns, ranigng from open flashy magic, to hidden magic, and monster hunting.

Hudson City Shadows takes the Hudson City source book and overlays a veneer of mysticism and occult onto it, allowing you to create an Urban Fantasy setting with that book, reducing your workload. The setting is an Open Magic setting, where Magic was recently reintroduced to the world after centuries of dormancy and hiding. A history of magic, as well as a complete magic system with several dozen spell examples. The Mystic World section covers several factions of mystic beings in the world. First, a group of five NPCs to use generally. The Vampyri are this settings version of the vampire, The Fae Folk covers how the faery work in the setting, and last are Haunts (various kinds of ghosts). Three campaign ideas and five adventure seeds finish off the setting.

Invasive Species is a complete setting set in Reno, Nevada. It approaches the setting from three very different angles, and does an excellent job of setting up both a Monster Hunter and Hidden War style campaign - depending on which side the PCs want to take. The setting contains a secret conspiracy history, five different warring factions of mythological creatures, and one group determined to hunt them all down. The campaign is set up so you can choose to run as the monsters in a secret war for survival, renegade monsters out to repent from their wicked ways and stop their brethren, or the hunters gunning for them all. The Mythologies include some Native American, Werewolves, Vampires, Indian monsters, and Mexican creatures. Magic in the setting is very low key, focusing more on the creatures than that flash.

The Sixth Sun is a take on Aztec Mythology. Magic is introduced into the world by the Aztec Gods, who have set up the Sixth Sun - or sixth world - in order to test mankind. Magic is prevalent, flashy, and common in almost everyone's lives. Like with Hudson City Shadows a full magic system is introduced and dozens of spells are detailed that one can use as models for more, or keep the extensive list as is for any campaign. Three campaign ideas and three adventure plot seeds finish off this setting.

Lines Of Contention is both a setting, and a fully detailed adventure. The setting is a variant on Hudson City Shadows where magic is even more low key and "realistic" - realistic meaning while magic is real, an ordinary man can come up with a non-magical explanation to "write it off" as something else. Magic is a background to the setting rather than something overt everyone knows about. It also introduces Ley Lines for Hudson City, giving a map of where they are and what effects they have on magic in general. Which is where the Adventure comes in. I won't give away any details though. The adventure is divided into three acts, and can be played either over one session quickly, or dispersed over a long period of time in between other adventures in a longer running campaign. The magic system in this campaign is an excellent example of how to create a Step-Based (or level based) magic system. A mage can only advance to the next level when they've mastered the current level (i.e. purchased all the abilities); though you can learn a spell from any level casting above your knowledge is dangerous. Only a dozen example spells are provided but they are a wide enough variety to provide examples of most effects.

All four settings are widely different, and should provide either a solid base to start from, or a good enough example to create your own setting from without missing any important factors. If you're into the Urban Fantasy genre this book is definitely worth picking up. The book ends with a short but extremely useful bibliography of source material of all kinds (books, comics, movies, television, and other RPGs).

The downside:

In the Package Deals section I would have liked to see a dedicated Monster Hunter archetype covered, given the prevalence in gaming of that sub-genre.

While it's not completely within the scope of Urban Fantasy as a whole, Weird Conspiracy often touches the genre, and is a close enough cousin, that even a brief mention of how to combine the two - or at least the differences between the two - would have been a welcome addition. But it's not really 'missing' as such.

The Otherside:

Whether you're new to the genre or old hat and looking for more ideas this book is an excellent resource. Well organized, covers just about everything that touches on Urban Fantasy as a whole, and provides a great deal of information on using the Hero System to implement the ideas. And the cover has a very modern little red riding hood ready to gun down some werewolves. . . how could you possible go wrong.

[bubba smith]

dedicated monster hunter archtype i think the sons of daniel from invasive species fill that roll

[ghost-angel]

they do, perfectly, but they're setting specific - and while they can be adapted, I was hoping to see something more general. It's a minor point at best though.

[Curufea]

We can create some to put on the wiki and/or in the fantasy hero section of this board.

Which reminds me - I need to create a new section on the wiki for this genre :)

[bubba smith]

good plan

[Peregrine]

Wow.

Not only does this make interesting a genre that I previously found uninteresting, there are some bits mentioned in the review that have applicability in other Hero gaming.

*scrounging*

[bubba smith]

Wow.

Not only does this make interesting a genre that I previously found uninteresting, there are some bits mentioned in the review that have applicability in other Hero gaming.

*scrounging*
for example mystic detective ambrose stone [the cu version of harry dresden] coild have for a client bethany duqense, witchcraft herself

[Peregrine]

for example mystic detective ambrose stone [the cu version of harry dresden] coild have for a client bethany duqense, witchcraft herself

Actually, I was thinking about some of the rules bits in the earlier chapters.

[SatinKitty]

A great review ! Now I'm curious.

[Labrat]

I bought it! Now, maybe someone can answer some questions that I have.

Is it considered a 'Dark Champions' sub-genre?
Being interested in the Hudson City scenarios, will I need to buy DC: Hudson City to get the full effect?
Are there Hudson City maps inside?

Thanks!

[ghost-angel]

Some Urban Fantasy is a cross between Dark Champions and Fantasy Hero. Some Urban Fantasy has few, to no, Dark Champions elements beyond sharing the mordern day time frame.

The Hudson City settings can get more benefit from the Hudson City book - but they do provide a basic map of the city for you to use if you choose those settings to play in. At the very least, the Hudson City Map PDF is a good addition if you want to use that city itself.

The scenarios, however, are easily transported to the City Of Choice (real or otherwise) with no problems at all.

[Labrat]

Some Urban Fantasy is a cross between Dark Champions and Fantasy Hero. Some Urban Fantasy has few, to no, Dark Champions elements beyond sharing the mordern day time frame.

The Hudson City settings can get more benefit from the Hudson City book - but they do provide a basic map of the city for you to use if you choose those settings to play in. At the very least, the Hudson City Map PDF is a good addition if you want to use that city itself.

The scenarios, however, are easily transported to the City Of Choice (real or otherwise) with no problems at all.

Many thanks, my friend.

[Steve Long]

Is it considered a 'Dark Champions' sub-genre?

I would consider it a Fantasy sub-genre, not a Dark Champions sub-genre. In most examples of the genre, most of the hallmarks of modern-day action-adventure -- guns, cars, espionage, etc. -- are nearly or totally absent. Some sub-sub-genres, such as Monster Hunters, come closer to Dark Champions, but still I'd call that Fantasy with DC flavoring for the most part.


Being interested in the Hudson City scenarios, will I need to buy DC: Hudson City to get the full effect?
Are there Hudson City maps inside?

The one-page full map of Hudson City is printed twice in the book: once on page 76 as a general reference, and once on page 181 with the ley lines marked on it.

Generally speaking, I think the settings/scenarios that take place in Hudson City are easily ported to any other city setting of your choice. The one possible exception might be Lines Of Contention, which would require some work on the part of the GM to figure out the ley lines for another setting, and the consequences of that (if any) for the progress of the adventure.

[Labrat]

I would consider it a Fantasy sub-genre, not a Dark Champions sub-genre. In most examples of the genre, most of the hallmarks of modern-day action-adventure -- guns, cars, espionage, etc. -- are nearly or totally absent. Some sub-sub-genres, such as Monster Hunters, come closer to Dark Champions, but still I'd call that Fantasy with DC flavoring for the most part.



The one-page full map of Hudson City is printed twice in the book: once on page 76 as a general reference, and once on page 181 with the ley lines marked on it.

Generally speaking, I think the settings/scenarios that take place in Hudson City are easily ported to any other city setting of your choice. The one possible exception might be Lines Of Contention, which would require some work on the part of the GM to figure out the ley lines for another setting, and the consequences of that (if any) for the progress of the adventure.

Thanks Steve.

Me being the lazy fool that I am, I'm still going to buy HC and the Map so I don't have to stat out my own city. I was also considered getting Predators in order to use with UFH... unless you would rather me keep my money... ;)

Now if you could just re-release Dark Champions.

[Spence]

Thanks Steve.

Me being the lazy fool that I am, I'm still going to buy HC and the Map so I don't have to stat out my own city. I was also considered getting Predators in order to use with UFH... unless you would rather me keep my money... ;)

Now if you could just re-release Dark Champions.

After buying HC and the HC map, I have used it as the main city setting for all the games I've run regardless of genre, even if that use is just the map. All I have to do is raise or lower the amount of detail and make some on the fly changes. After all a NPC lawyer or policeman is essentially the same regardless of what year they operated in, the biggest diff being equipment and skills/knowledge.

I would most likely use the Vibora and Millennium cities more if they had a really super cool separate PDF map like HC does (hint hint :angel:).

[Shaft]

I just got my copy yesterday and have already devoured it. Good stuff.

I will never look at Reno, NV the same way again...

MLG

[FenrisUlf]

Just asking, would Urban Fantasy HERO be a good fit for some of the characters listed in Ultimate Mystic? I'm specifically thinking of the Indian cop-turned-mystic-PI and her main enemy, the Satanic crime boss and his vampire stooge.

[ghost-angel]

Those two would be an excellent fit for an Urban-Fantasy Genre campaign.

[bubba smith]

Just asking, would Urban Fantasy HERO be a good fit for some of the characters listed in Ultimate Mystic? I'm specifically thinking of the Indian cop-turned-mystic-PI and her main enemy, the Satanic crime boss and his vampire stooge.
sounds like they'll work whats the skinny on them?

[FenrisUlf]

sounds like they'll work whats the skinny on them?

The crime boss is Julian Silvers -- it's not stated outright, but it's suggested that he is a member of the infamous Silvestris from Arcane Adversaries, as it's said that his family is a clan of Satanists who bring evil to the world with sorcery, crime, and corruption. He's not so much of a sorceror himself, but he has enough to become the youngest crime boss in his city.

His chief hood, Randy Dandy, is basically a former gangbanger who tried to kill Silvers on a whim. It ended with Silvers sacrificing RD to Satan before his (Silvers') patron demon turned Dandy into a vampire. RD isn't a really powerful vampire, but he does have superhuman strength and speed, as well as his old street hood skills, and he loyally serves Silvers.

I forget the lady detective's name right now. Basically, she's an American Indian, she was a police detective, she got put through a nasty initiation experience by the ghost of her grandfather which ended with her bounced from the force, and now she uses a handful of minor rituals, shamanic items (like a coup stick that lets her clout spirits as well as more material offenders), and her spiritual connections to solve crimes and fight various nasty supernatural sorts like Silvers and Dandy.

[Ryjrunr]

I forget the lady detective's name right now. Basically, she's an American Indian, she was a police detective, she got put through a nasty initiation experience by the ghost of her grandfather which ended with her bounced from the force, and now she uses a handful of minor rituals, shamanic items (like a coup stick that lets her clout spirits as well as more material offenders), and her spiritual connections to solve crimes and fight various nasty supernatural sorts like Silvers and Dandy.

Sarah Redhawk

side bar page 14

[bubba smith]

thanks

[Ryjrunr]

you're welcome. :)

[cranialspasm]

I just looked on the site and on amazon and Urban Fantasy Hero is no longer available? Will there be another batch printed?

[ghost-angel]

It's available in the Online Store - switch the Category Filter to "Fantasy Hero" or "All"

[KawangaKid]

Bit late to the party, but picked up an electronic copy for myself today. Unlikely that I'll run it, but I always find these genre books useful for my writing. :)

[Rolemancer]

Will there be another made for 6th Edition? Perhaps there is no need I don't know, never looked at the book, but I am very interested in this type of setting.

Thanks!

[IndianaJoe3]

Hero will only make a 6e version after the 5e version sells out, and even then only if it sold out quickly enough. Certainly not until 2012 at the earliest.

[Steve Long]

We have no plans at this point to re-do UFH for 6E. If we ever do want to, we'll wait until the 5E version sells out, and we still have plenty of copies on hand.

[Sydguy]

Looks fine ... "Science, if suffiently advanced, is like magic"